Marlins Land Cuban

Phenom Hernandez Signs $4.5 Million Deal

January 14, 1996

With H. Wayne Huizenga's blessing, the Marlins came to terms Saturday with Cuban defector Livan Hernandez on a $4.5 million deal that includes a record $2.5 million signing bonus and a four-year major league contract, and could be worth another $1.5 million in incentives.

Hernandez chose the Marlins over two other bidders who made it to the last day of a unique auction for the 20-year-old right-handed pitcher, who defected from the Cuban national team in September: Atlanta Braves President Stan Kasten said he offered a bigger financial package than the Marlins, and another source said that both the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays offered more guaranteed money.

"I'm very happy," said Hernandez, who spoke to the media in a conference call Saturday night from the Dominican Republic, and will come to South Florida on Monday for a news conference. "I'm glad we're done with the first step."

The Marlins dropped out of the bidding for a second Cuban defector, pitcher Osvaldo Fernandez, who signed Saturday night with the San Francisco Giants, a surprising late entrant. Fernandez's signing stunned the Toronto Blue Jays, who reportedly offered the 29-year-old right-hander close to $3 million.

Hernandez, who had never been to South Florida until he visited with agent Joe Cubas in December, will be given the chance in spring training to crack the Marlins' starting rotation, although it is more likely he will at least begin the season in the minor leagues.

"We believe he has the ability to be a very good major league pitcher, and quickly," said Marlins General Manager Dave Dombrowski, who interrupted his honeymoon in Australia to take part by telephone in negotiations conducted in the Dominican Republic by assistant GM Frank Wren and director of Latin American operations Al Avila.

Marlins President Don Smiley also was in telephone contact from South Florida, and owner Huizenga took time from his courtship of new Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson to approve the money required to make the historic deal, one that should have significant appeal in South Florida's Cuban community.

"We hope people realize we're reaching out to the community," Dombrowski said. "We like bringing in a talented pitcher they can come out and see, [but) we didn't just sign somebody to please people locally."

Hernandez and Fernandez were declared free agents after agent Cubas shrewdly devised a plan by which the players established their residency in the Dominican Republic instead of coming directly to the United States. Had they come to the U.S. first, they would have been subject to the June amateur draft in which another Cuban pitcher who defected, Ariel Prieto, was selected last spring by Oakland, which gave him a $1.2 million signing bonus.

Hernandez's signing bonus eclipsed the record $2 million deal Japanese phenom Hideo Nomo received from the Los Angeles Dodgers last winter. Unlike Nomo, who signed a minor league contract and pitched for the major league minimum of $109,000 last season, Hernandez was guaranteed an additional $2 million over the next four years in an escalating major league contract.

"We would have preferred to sign him to a minor league contract, but due to the competition from other clubs, we had to offer him a major league contract," said Dombrowski, who will have to drop a player from the team's 40-man roster to make room for Hernandez.

The pitcher also has a chance to earn $1.5 million in incentives that will be based on games started, as well as on such standard incentive clauses as winning the Cy Young Award, making the All-Star team, or being named Most Valuable Player.

Marlins manager Rene Lachemann said Hernandez compares favorably to a young Doc Gooden, who won the National League's Cy Young Award as a 19-year-old rookie for the New York Mets in 1984.

But Gooden pitched two seasons in the minors, Rijo three. Until he pitched in the Dominican Republic this winter, Hernandez had never pitched an inning of professional baseball. He has never seen a big-league game. Lachemann cautioned against expecting too much, too soon.

"We're not going to run him into Joe Robbie Stadium just because we gave him a lot of money," Wren said. "We're not. He'll pitch there when he's ready, and not for anything else."

The deal was finalized by Wren and Cubas at about 4 p.m. Dominican time Saturday afternoon, which was Sunday morning in Australia. Wren said this was the most unique negotiating experience of his career.

Hernandez will take part at the end of the week in the Marlins' mini-camp for pitchers and catchers in Joe Robbie Stadium. The team has plans to provide him with an English teacher, and will assist him in his contacts with the media. Lachemann speaks fractured Spanish, coach Cookie Rojas is from Cuba, and bullpen coach Rick Williams is fluent in Spanish.